Brazil coach Zanon thankful for Limoges outings
SAO PAULO (FIBA World Championship for Women) - Brazil head coach Luiz Augusto Zanon is pleased with the way his team are continuing to evolve ahead of the FIBA World Championship for Women later this mont
SAO PAULO (FIBA World Championship for Women) - Brazil head coach Luiz Augusto Zanon is pleased with the way his team are continuing to evolve ahead of the FIBA World Championship for Women later this month, despite contrasting experiences at a recent friendly tournament in Limoges.
The South American champions claimed a convincing 77-40 success against fellow Turkey-bound competitors Angola, before sliding to an 83-62 defeat by the competition hosts.
"It was a very hard and physically aggressive game against France," mused the play-caller as the team returned to their homeland.
"Despite some of the physical fragility we had during this game, the reaction of the team and the attitude was important.
"In this contest we could have made much better decisions at many key times and we still have many errors which will need correcting to help us maintain the intensity throughout games.
"This game against France served to assess the levels of our opponents and we believe that even with this result, it gave the group (of players) enough of a chance to grow.
"We recognise and know we still have much to add at this stage and I think we'll have to play with even more intensity if we want results.
"However, it was a very productive tournament for the growth of the team," added Zanon.
Brazil had always been behind after France blasted their way into an early double-figure lead which they increased to 20 points by the interval.
Thanks to the sterling efforts of the in-form Clarissa Dos Santos who racked up a fine double-double of 19 points and 12 rebounds, Brazil managed to cut the deficit to single digits after the break, but France soon stepped things up again.
Endene Miyem and Marielle Amant combined to score 32 points for the winning team, with Les Bleues taking the opportunity to make another cut by releasing forward Laetitia Kamba.
Brazil, meanwhile, still have their trio of WNBA players to add to their ranks in the coming days as coach Zanon begins to consider how he will reduce the size of his own list of candidates prior to arriving in Ankara.
FIBA